HAMPDEN — The hometown kid has a chance to make history at the 117th Massachusetts Amateur Golf Championship — again.

In 2023, Longmeadow’s Ryan Downes became the youngest golfer ever to take home a Mass. Am crown, and on Thursday, he outlasted Dedham’s Joey Lenane in a rollercoaster match that needed a playoff hole to decide a winner. Downes’ 1-up victory over Lenane lifted him into Friday’s final match against Woodland Golf Club’s Patrick Kilcoyne.

If Downes wins, he will become the first person to win two Mass. Am championships before turning 20 years old. And there’s no better place to do it than at his home course, GreatHorse — the site of this year’s tournament.

Downes watched his early 1-up lead vanish in a hurry, as Lenane cruised through the front nine with a 2-under 34 while Downes bogeyed three straight holes to give Lenane a 3-up advantage. Downes picked up the first two holes of the back nine and birdied the par-5 14th — his fourth birdie in five holes — to knot the match up with four holes to play.

A pair of pars on the 15th and 16th set the stage for a drama-filled final two holes. Both Downes and Lenane hit perfect tee shots down the 17th fairway, and Lenane was set to go first. He stuck a wedge shot to about three feet, setting the stage for Downes. The Vanderbilt rising sophomore hit a good shot himself, leaving him with a 10-foot putt.

They both rolled in their birdies, and to the 18th tee they went, still all square. Each made par to send the match to a playoff back down the 1st hole.

Downes hit first and missed the fairway right, but got a favorable kick from the cart path to put him close to 100 yards away from the green in the right rough. Lenane hit his tee shot down the middle and had an iron in. He hit the green but was long and left of the pin. Downes hit his wedge to about 12 feet, giving him a strong advantage as Lenane stared down a 30-foot slider.

Lenane ran his lightning-quick putt eight feet past the hole while Downes secured an easy two-putt for par. Lenane, a rising senior at North Carolina State, burnt the edge on his par putt but couldn’t jar it, giving Downes the thrilling win in front of a pack of supporters at his home course.

In the other semifinal match, Kilcoyne never trailed against his opponent, Kernwood Country Club’s Aidan Emmerich. Kilcoyne went 2-up through three holes before dropping the next two to tie it back up. He then won the 8th, 10th and 11th holes in a birdie-fueled surge that propelled him ahead by three.

Emmerich wouldn’t go away with victories on 14 and 15, but another Kilcoyne birdie on 17 put the match on ice — giving Kilcoyne the 2 & 1 triumph.

It’ll be Downes against Kilcoyne for the title, starting at 7:30 a.m. as the two will play 36 holes with a break in between.

The prize?

The 117th Massachusetts Amateur Championship.